The Quinnipiac women’s soccer team fell to Monmouth University 2-1 on Friday afternoon at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field for its first conference loss of the season.
After 75 minutes of scoreless soccer, Monmouth (2-1-1-, 7-4-1) scored two goals within 90 seconds, giving the Hawks a commanding 2-0 lead. Senior forward Meagan McLoughlin netted her second goal of the season for Quinnipiac (1-1-2, 3-5-2) with seven minutes remaining, but it was too little, too late for the Bobcats.
Monmouth put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Quinnipiac defense in the second half as it wore out the Bobcat defense. In the 75th minute, midfielder Mary Wilks eventually found forward Courtney Snyder, who launched a shot past Quinnipiac goalkeeper Jill Kelley to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
“We could tell the goal was coming,” Quinnipiac head coach Dave Clarke said. “We were giving away corners, giving away throw-ins, not clearing our lines, and eventually they’re going to take one of those chances and they did.”
Just 1:14 later, Monmouth added an insurance goal as Jennie Vartebedian scored off a deflection into the top-right corner of the net, out of reach for Kelley.
“We dropped our heads and fell asleep right away and they scored, which tends to happen in soccer,” Clarke said.
Quinnipiac did respond in the 83rd minute, as McLoughlin scored off a corner kick from junior forward Furtuna Velaj. However, it was not enough for the Bobcats to overcome.
It was a tale of two halves as the Bobcats appeared evenly matched with Monmouth at halftime. But Monmouth outshot Quinnipiac 13-6 in the second half, dominating possession of the ball.
“There was one moment we gave the ball away and I timed it and it was four-and-a-half minutes before we got the ball out of their half again,” Clarke said. “It’s like having a four minute power play in hockey.”
Quinnipiac continues its conference schedule as it hosts Mount St. Mary’s on Sunday at noon.
